Pune: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said his ministry was ready to develop a ‘dry port’ in Pune, which will be connected to Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) via rail link to reduce the logistical cost for the local industry.

“Since a lot of export and import is being done from Pune, I am ready to give a dry port to the city so that all the sealing of the containers can be done here and they can be sent to JNPT via rail,” the Union minister for road transport, highways and shipping said.

“If the produce is sent via rail, the container traffic on (Pune-Mumbai) Expressway will decrease and as a result, cost will be reduced and issue of pollution will also be addressed and local industry will be benefited,” Gadkari said, while addressing the annual general meeting at the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA), an industry body.

His ministry was already developing dry ports in Nagpur, Wardha, Aurangabad and Jalna in Maharashtra, he said.

Stressing the idea of ‘waste to wealth’, Gadkari said Pune can become a hub for the alternative fuel sources and exhorted the industrialists and industry bodies to conduct research in bio-fuels.

“If we decide collectively, we can achieve a goal of zero import of petroleum and it is not impossible as we have a lot of expertise and resources,” he said.

The minister said the government was planning to bring a policy to ban the heavy and medium vehicles which are 15 or more than 15 years old, and it will give a boost to the auto industry.